Israel Health Ministry officials will in the coming days announce that 200,000 children in southern Israel will receive another vaccine against polio. The ministry earlier in July announced concerns and sample were taken towards determining the extent of the presence of polio in the population. 1,400 samples sent to the United States show that there are dozens of carriers in Israel. This seems to be sufficient to prompt the decision to vaccinate children born after January 1, 2004.

Experts in Israel explain that children who were vaccinated will not contract the illness but it does not prevent them from spreading it. This vaccine will address carriers of the illness spreading

Back in June, officials urged parents of children under six-years-old to have their children vaccinated.

One expert explains we cannot really know how many children had polio since the illness usually manifests as a virus. Only one of every hundred will suffer paralysis it is explained.

Israel appears to be ordering 500,000 vaccines as it steps up its program to address the finding of the polio virus in sewage systems in the southern and Sharon regions in addition to verifying there are carriers of the illness in southern Israel.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)